Chronic insomnia is the most common sleep disorder in society and it is about the decreased ability we have to sleep. That is, the difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep.
This causes a constant fatigue in our body since we can not rest. This lack causes problems in our work performance and affects our quality of life since we are drowsy during the day.
Although most adults need between 7-8 hours to rest, the hours of sleep required vary from person to person. There are those who with only 4 hours feel full of energy, the so-called “little sleepers”, and those who need 10 hours a day to cope with daily life, the so-called “great sleepers.”
The absence of sleep occurs in different ways, so we can talk about several types of insomnia:
1. Maintenance insomnia: it is when we have difficulty staying asleep continuously while we sleep, that is, we wake up several times or get up early involuntarily being unable to go back to sleep.
2. Onset insomnia: as the name suggests, it is when we have trouble falling asleep at the beginning of the night, taking half an hour or more. This situation is quite annoying and can cause irritability and anxiety.
These two types of insomnia can occur in the short or long term. Short-term insomnia, also called acute or temporary, lasts a few days or weeks, and usually appears due to excess stress. The problem comes when that insomnia lasts over time, that is, chronic insomnia, lasting months and even years.
We must know that insomnia may be the main problem or be linked to other conditions or diseases, so we must know the cause of the problem in order to cure insomnia and eradicate its consequences in our day to day life and not enter a vicious circle of concern. and discomfort.
Causes of chronic insomnia
There are several factors related to trouble falling asleep. Among the medical causes we can identify hormonal, metabolic, digestive, cardiovascular, urological disorders or headaches, as well as psychiatric disorders such as depression, schizophrenia or anxiety, among others.
Regarding external causes, insomnia is frequently linked to environmental factors that negatively affect our rest, such as substance abuse, medications, bad habits, jet lag, etc …
There are many young people whose cause of insomnia is directly linked to an incorrect learning to sleep during childhood, which is known as idiopathic insomnia.
Another very common cause is that related to a high concern for the sleep problem, the so-called psychophysiological insomnia. This type of insomnia is very striking since it is the person themselves that causes the problem, since it is when they make great efforts to sleep when it costs them the most and, however, when they do not think about it much is when they manage to fall asleep quickly and without difficulty . It is usually very perfectionist and demanding people who suffer from this insomnia for wanting to keep everything under control without success.
For all of the above, whatever your case, we recommend you identify the cause to cure insomnia and get enough rest to face your daily life. Break the cycle of insomnia by changing those factors that affect your rest. Get rid of your negative and worrying thoughts.
Most experts advise following the following recommendations to combat chronic insomnia:
Regulate sleep schedules
Use the bed only to sleep
Avoid naps
Go to bed only when we are sleepy
· Improve our lifestyle (diet and exercise)
Control our worry about sleep
By following the above tips to cure insomnia, you can improve your rest and ensure that chronic insomnia does not affect your health and general well-being. Avoid self-medicating and go to a specialist. Remember that each case is different so not all therapies or medications are worth it.
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